A Spirited Perfect Ten

Travel Junkie

Well-Known Member
Streaming NFL games sounds very illegal.

People think they want a la carte, but it's going to be a shock to their budgets if and when it comes to fruition. People are going to go from $100 for 150 channels to $90 for 15 channels. The savings won't justify the loss of variety. Niche content is propped up by the bundle model.


Simmons was always about Simmons. ESPN doesn't want their talent to get bigger than "the brand." Awful Announcing had a good analysis about a week ago.

http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/espn-returns-to-an-old-mantra-nobody-is-bigger-than-the-four-letters.html

I agree that a la carte is going to be worse. In particular, sports programming is so segmented now with every league on multiple networks. My local baseball team could be on the local RSN, Fox, Fox Sports 1, ESPN, or TBS. The other sports are just as bad or worse. Trying to find what channel has a particular college football game has become a treasure hunt.

That is a common thread among those who left ESPN recently. It was all about them. I have never understood the appeal of Simmons. In my view he is one of the things that is wrong about sports journalism today if that’s what you even call him. Same goes for Cowherd.
 

Bolna

Well-Known Member
Just came across this article -

EDIT: it went behind a subscriber wall the second time I clicked on it

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/27e42c8e-351d-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852.html#axzz3hD0d4iII

Looks like DLP may be getting in trouble for charging cheaper rates to "locals". Were they even trying to hide this? It's commonplace for the US parks.

Yes, part of the EU Single Market is the principle that no price discrimination is allowed on the basis of nationality (with very limited exceptions). The principle of the EU Single Market is the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people – als called the "four freedoms" – between the EU's 28 member states. The EU commission takes this very seriously and is currently very engaged in improving the situation on this, see also the current initiatives about abolishing geo-blocking within the EU.

I find it quite fascinating that someone started noticing this. It is really ridiculous at DLP. While rack rates are incredible high (and the same for everyone), they run specials all the time (even more than WDW) and those specials vary depending which country you are from. So, someone booking through the French local website (they even have two different French websites, one for locals and one for the rest of France) might get a deal of 40% off for a 3-night stay at Hotel New York. Someone from the UK might get a 35% discount for the same package under a similar promotion. Germans usually don't get more than a 20% discount. And I think some smaller countries like Estonia don't get any discounts at all.

Can a subscriber please post the article instead of the link?

This would actually be a violation of the copyright... But try to google "Disneyland Paris Brussels Prices" and then select "cache" and not the link to the website. Worked for me. ;)
 

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
Streaming NFL games sounds very illegal.

People think they want a la carte, but it's going to be a shock to their budgets if and when it comes to fruition. People are going to go from $100 for 150 channels to $90 for 15 channels. The savings won't justify the loss of variety. Niche content is propped up by the bundle model.


Simmons was always about Simmons. ESPN doesn't want their talent to get bigger than "the brand." Awful Announcing had a good analysis about a week ago.

http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/esp...a-nobody-is-bigger-than-the-four-letters.html

Your take on unbundling says everything I need to know.

Anyone who thinks Simmons is anything but an asset--regardless of ego--is insane.
 

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Your take on unbundling says everything I need to know.

Anyone who thinks Simmons is anything but an asset--regardless of ego--is insane.
Essentially Simmons got a bigger penalty than Ray Rice for calling Goodell a liar. ESPN's behavior towards the NFL lately has been inexcusable. Their refusal to tolerate anyone speaking ill of the NFL is laughable. They're making mistakes that could lead to another cable sports company making a significant dent in their brand.
 

Fe Maiden

Well-Known Member
Essentially Simmons got a bigger penalty than Ray Rice for calling Goodell a liar. ESPN's behavior towards the NFL lately has been inexcusable. Their refusal to tolerate anyone speaking ill of the NFL is laughable. They're making mistakes that could lead to another cable sports company making a significant dent in their brand.

But you're going on the misguided notion that ESPN is owned by Disney. The Ginger Hammer is their overlord along with the 32 owners of the NFL.
 

Travel Junkie

Well-Known Member
Anyone who thinks Simmons is anything but an asset--regardless of ego--is insane.

He is an asset, but is he worth such a high salary?

  • Grantland loses money

  • His presence on ESPN NBA basketball coverage failed to compete with TNT’s.

  • His Grantland show was a ratings disaster

  • 30 for 30 is a critical and ratings success

  • He was a traffic driver for ESPN.com and Grantland (even though again Grantland lost money)
I’m sure I missed something. Simmons is a polarizing figure which will always be a draw, but at the end of the day his presence on ESPN platforms failed to justify the salary he was getting paid. Then you have to decide if having him associated with your brand makes up the difference. ESPN thought it wasn’t.

It is probably better for him to go to HBO anyway. He can say and do whatever he wants.
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
He is an asset, but is he worth such a high salary?

  • Grantland loses money

  • His presence on ESPN NBA basketball coverage failed to compete with TNT’s.

  • His Grantland show was a ratings disaster

  • 30 for 30 is a critical and ratings success

  • He was a traffic driver for ESPN.com and Grantland (even though again Grantland lost money)
I’m sure I missed something. Simmons is a polarizing figure which will always be a draw, but at the end of the day his presence on ESPN platforms failed to justify the salary he was getting paid. Then you have to decide if having him associated with your brand makes up the difference. ESPN thought it wasn’t.

It is probably better for him to go to HBO anyway. He can say and do whatever he wants.

Ive never tuned in to ESPN for a "personality." The Sports are the stars, not the guy talking to me in the camera.
 

Captain Neo

Well-Known Member
First pic of new Star Wars villain?

PhilHolmes_JPG_31693_orig-663x999.jpg
 

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Can a subscriber please post the article instead of the link?
From the BBC:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-33697945
Disneyland Paris faces pricing probe
_84540790_84540785.jpg

Disneyland Paris is facing a pricing probe following accusations that UK and German customers are being frozen out of certain price promotions.

The Financial Times said people in the UK were paying 15% more for one day tickets.

The European Commission told the BBC that it had "received a number of complaints" from customers.

A Disneyland Paris spokesman said promotions were seasonal.

The newspaper said in a report that in some cases French consumers were paying €1,346 for a premium package, while British visitors were charged €1,870 and Germans €2,447.

The European Commission is concerned that Disneyland Paris is stopping consumers in some member states from shopping around for the best deals, EC spokeswoman Lucia Caudet told BBC Business online.

Under European law, firms can not stop consumers from doing this, she said.

_84541627_1d845246-0b63-4e7e-b7ef-afeeb65d8359.jpg

The BBC understands that consumers in countries including the UK, Germany and Italy have made pricing complaints.

The problem potentially lies in, for example, a UK holidaymaker trying to order a Disneyland Paris ticket from a French website but being unable unable pay because they do not have a French credit card.

The French government has now been asked to investigate.

A spokesman for Disneyland Paris said that the price of a standard ticket was the same across the European Union market.

He said that the firm runs different promotions at specific times of year based around, for example, seasonal events and school holidays.

Customers are not subject to so-called geo-blocking, where promotions are closed to those people whose computers are located in a certain country, the spokesman said.

But he added that customers would not be able to directly pay for tickets for a promotion for a certain country unless their credit or debit card is registered in that country.

"It's an anti-fraud measure," he said.
 

BrerJon

Well-Known Member

Marketing different offers to different countries has been standard Disney practice for years, and makes sense based on differing vacation habits, so it's odd that people are only noticing now. They need to be careful what they wish for - the Brits may be being ripped off by the French but how would they like it if Disney decided to stop the WDW promotions exclusively targeted to them that make Orlando super cheap?

Brits have had 2 week Ultimate tickets and permanent free dining while Americans have had Magic Your Way and free dining only for a short period (although do tend to get more room only discounts), while Canadians get great deals for Disneyland... France pushes super cheap Annual Passes to its citizens yet never mentions them to Brits because they usually book packages which include tickets anyway... so there's always a promo one country is getting while another misses out.

It will be interesting to see if this changes as a result of this furore.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Marketing different offers to different countries has been standard Disney practice for years, and makes sense based on differing vacation habits, so it's odd that people are only noticing now. They need to be careful what they wish for - the Brits may be being ripped off by the French but how would they like it if Disney decided to stop the WDW promotions exclusively targeted to them that make Orlando super cheap?

Brits have had 2 week Ultimate tickets and permanent free dining while Americans have had Magic Your Way and free dining only for a short period (although do tend to get more room only discounts), while Canadians get great deals for Disneyland... France pushes super cheap Annual Passes to its citizens yet never mentions them to Brits because they usually book packages which include tickets anyway... so there's always a promo one country is getting while another misses out.

And are any of these promotions (also including the room + breakfast package) available to other European WDW visitors?
 

BrerJon

Well-Known Member
And are any of these promotions (also including the room + breakfast package) available to other European WDW visitors?

Do you mean DLP visitors? I think they run the same kind of promotions (buy X nights get one free, back to school discounts, free full-board, kids go free etc.) in all countries, just for different dates, different combinations of offer, and with different terms running at different times, but everyone gets those deals at some point.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Do you mean DLP visitors? I think they run the same kind of promotions (buy X nights get one free, back to school discounts, free full-board, kids go free etc.) in all countries, just for different dates, different combinations of offer, and with different terms running at different times, but everyone gets those deals at some point.

I meant WDW deals for other European visitors. As in, could a German family buy 2 week tickets? Can a Spainish couple get Free Dining etc. or is that just exclusive to British travellers? Or alternatively, could they book through the UK site with their own credit card?
 

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